


Piece of Cake

by LittleDarlingXOX



Series: JayTim Shorts [6]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Birthday Party, Can be read on its own, Fluff and Angst, M/M, semi continuation of Date Night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-13 18:08:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14753729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleDarlingXOX/pseuds/LittleDarlingXOX
Summary: Jason and Tim's small steps towards parenthood are more of a trip and a roll. (Semi connected to part 5: "Date Night")





	Piece of Cake

_Two-face? Not a problem._

_A concert hall full of ninjas? Piece of cake._

_So why do I feel completely lost in a toy store?_

 

Jason stood in front of the long aisle stacked with a variety of children's toys.

Ones that flashed with lights. Ones that could roll and spin in circles, shouting catchphrases in their tinny animated voices.

Jason looked to his right at the line of Batman figurines standing next to the fashionista dolls with the color-changing hair and almost wanted to laugh.

As it was, it was taking all of Jason’s effort not to turn around and walk to his car.

“Jason?”

A hand touched Jason’s elbow, but despite the light weight of it on his arm, Jason flinched away.

He turned to see Tim standing there with a stack of storybooks tucked into the crook of his arm. Judging from the titles, Jason guessed they were going to be added to the growing stack of adventure stories piled under Bodi’s bed at Gotham City Children’s Home. Most of Tim’s old childhood books had already been given to Markos— who was diligently trying to improve his reading skills.

With his hand on his arm, Tim steered Jason out of earshot of the family of four.

“What’s wrong?”

Jason couldn’t have said what his expression looked like when Tim had come across him, but whatever it was, Tim had seen enough to be scared for him. Sometimes Jason wondered if Tim felt like he was living with a ticking time bomb of a boyfriend— waiting for him to go off.

“I’m a shit godfather, is what’s wrong,” snapped Jason. “I don’t know the first thing about what kids like.”

Jason could sense the careful way that Tim crafted his next question.

“Well, what did your mom give you to play with as a child?”

Jason pressed his lips together and gave a tight-lipped smile. “Sometimes the closest thing I ever got to a toy was a hot poker.”

Jason traced his fingers around the raised skin on his forearm.

“Your Dad?” asked Tim.

Jason blinked and dropped his hand to his side.

“Step.” He corrected, smiling despite it all because Tim had just broken one of his private little rules… _whatever you do, don’t mention dear ol dad_. That meant Bruce and any other earlier stand-in.

“How about we just get the books for now? We still have plenty of time to pick out Lian’s present.”

* * *

 

They visited the children's home later that day and Jason watched from the reading room as Tim put their names and cellphone numbers down as emergency contacts.

There was a sharp tug at Jason’s hair.

“Ow, hey!”

Bodi had his head tilted back to look up at him from his seated position on his lap. “I wanna know what happens next.”

Jason shifted him in his lap. “Yeah, okay big guy.”

He flipped to the next page.

* * *

 

Of course Bruce found out about Tim’s decision later that week. The look he’d cast them across the dinner table had been a strange one. It had looked almost… proud? Whatever it was, it didn’t last long enough for Jason to get a good read on him.

Jason was beginning to think that he’d just imagined it, especially when Bruce wiped at his mouth with his napkin and said, “You’re too young to be adopting anything more than that cat. Remember that, the both of you.”

Bruce stood up from the table.

Dick followed Bruce with his eyes until he was sure he had left the room. He turned to look down the table at them, planting his elbow on the tablecloth and resting his face against his fist.

After a minute of silence had passed like this Jason quickly lost his patience.

“Yes, Dickhead? Can we help you with something?”

“Sorry, don’t mind me,” said Dick. “I’m just trying to take it all in. I was wondering when Bruce’s _adopt-all-the-lost-and-lonely-things_ habit would finally rub off on you guys.”

“I literally have no idea what you’re talking about, Dick.”

“Yeah, tell that to your cat, Jason.”

* * *

 

Jason stood shoulder to shoulder with Tim a few steps inside the doorway, staring in silent horror at the mob of screeching children. Lian’s birthday present hung in between them, the purple hippo pillow-pet nestled in a mass of sparkly tissue paper that Tim had picked out.

“Oh, man.” Tim breathed.

A gaggle of kids rushed past, their faces painted to look like Batman, butterflies, fairy princesses, and Wonder Woman.

“I know it’s a kids party, but Roy never said anything about _this many_ kids,” said Jason.

A group of moms huddled around the kitchen island, balancing paper plates of cake and glasses of wine. One of them caught sight of them standing in the doorway and beckoned them over with an energetic wave of her hand.

“Mm-hmm.” Jason offered her a plastered on smile and a half-hearted wave, already feeling completely out of his element.

He leaned into Tim. “If this is what parenthood is like, I don’t want it.”

Tim nodded. “Agreed. Perfectly happy with just the cat.”

“Yeah, the cat is great. Let’s just be cat-parents for now. We’ll throw Dorito a birthday party with Selina’s cats and it will be so much cooler than this.”

Tim smirked. “Dick’s gonna cry when he sees how awesome we are as cat-parents.”

It was a relief when Roy came stumbling into view, Lian and another boy Jason didn’t know hanging on his legs. Roy’s face brightened when he caught sight of them.

He grabbed Jason by the wrist.

“What are you standing over here for? Come say hi to your godchild.”

He dragged Jason forward into the room. Jason sent a wary look behind him at Tim before grasping onto him and tugging him along with him.

* * *

 

It was late in the evening when Jason and Tim found themselves slumped on Roy’s living room couch with Lian snoring softly against Jason’s chest.

Tim reached across the couch cushions for Jason’s hand that wasn’t currently wrapped loosely around Lian’s back and rubbing small circles. Tim threaded his fingers through Jason’s on top of the couch cushion.

“Hey,” he whispered.

Jason blinked and turned towards him with a tired smile. “Hey, what?”

“We never got to talk about what happened in the toy store earlier this week.”

Jason sighed and pulled his head free to rub at his face. “Tim, please don’t. I really don’t want to start on this now. It’s been a long—”

“Hey, no, no… “ Tim recaptured his hand between both of his own and pulled it closer to his lap. “That’s not what I was trying to do. I just wanted to say that I know you think that you’re destined to be a bad father figure because of all your issues with Bruce and your dads, but that’s not true. I think you’re a better man because of it. I know that you are... and so do Lian, Bodi, and Markos. Hell even Dorito loves you best.”

Tim smiled. “Do you see what I’m saying?”

Jason shook his head with a stupid smile. “Man, you’re too good for me. Get over here.”

Tim slid sideways until Jason could tuck him underneath his arm and press a kiss to his temple. They sat in silence for a while after that, listening to Lian’s quiet breathing and soaking in their small but powerful accomplishments.


End file.
